He has sifted through dozens of photos to find the perfect illustration, has spoken to the tattoo artist and booked an appointment.

The pending ink work is a tribute to his late dad and former KB United foundation player Jimmy McBreen, who died in March aged 58 after a battle with cancer.

"I found a photo of my old man from back in the day when he was playing," McBreen explained.

"He had just scored a goal and had his arms raised in the air. It is a great picture.

"I have booked in to get that tattooed on my side so he will always be with me."

The testimonial will not be McBreen's only body work.

The Newcastle-bred Central Coast striker has stars on his left side representing the women in his family.

He has footprints of his eldest son, Noah, stretching from his heart over his shoulder and is in the process of designing another tattoo to mark the birth two months ago of second boy, Leo James.

"They all mean something special to me," McBreen said.

"It's all about family. Family and friends are the most important things."

McBreen will today make his first visit to Hunter Stadium since the death of his father when the Jets host the Mariners in the F3 derby.

A powerful forward, Jimmy played two years at Edgeworth in the Northern NSW State League before joining KB United for their inaugural campaign in 1979.

A vivacious character, the Englishman was a popular figure at the International Sports Centre and forged life-long friendships during his three years in the city.

"I have had a few of dad's mates who are my mates as well ring me and say they are coming to the game," McBreen said.

Jimmy was his son's biggest fan and confidant.

"Every time when something goes down in the football world my first thought is, 'I can't wait to speak to dad about it.' Then you realise you can't," he said.

"It is a bit different but that's life. You have to move on.

"I obviously miss him, but you can't sit around and mope. You have to get on with it.

"I will just do the stuff I know he would be proud of and keep working like I always did."

Jimmy McBreen's influence has not only shone through on the football park.

"I have started my own mortgage broker business," his son said.

"Dad didn't say it to me, but I think his plan was always for me take over the business from him.

"When he got ill I fast-tracked it. I got my certificate four and after he passed away I got my diploma in finance and mortgage broking.

"I'm looking to take over dad's clients and branch out with my own clients.

"Once football finally does finish, whether it is at the end of this season or three years down the line, I want to be able to walk straight into that and do it full-time."

At 35, McBreen is one of the elder statesmen in the A-League.

Born in Burnley, England, he was only six weeks old when the family moved to Newcastle in 1977.

He made his national league debut for Newcastle United in 2000 and had stints in Romania, Scotland and England before returning to Australia in 2009.

The Mariners are his third A-League club following short stays at North Queensland and Perth.

After missing the opening round with a rib injury, McBreen came off the bench to score the winner against Perth last week.

His hustle and bustle team-first approach has endeared him to Mariners coach Graham Arnold.

"I won't die wondering," McBreen said.

"I give everything I have got. That has always been my style.

"When you get a bit older you get a bit wiser. You might not run as much. You run into better spaces or you know when you run to bring someone else into space.

"I had a bit of a niggle in my ribs leading into round one and wasn't involved in the first game.

"It was a case of getting myself back in. It was good to get 30 minutes and get the goal which earned us the three points. It was a good start."

Both the Jets and Mariners are coming off impressive wins.

The Jets stunned Sydney FC 3-2 and the Mariners wore down last season's grand finalists 1-0.

McBreen has been impressed by a new-look Jets outfit.

"They put a lot of pressure on you and try and force you to make mistakes," he said.

"We have done a lot of video analysis on them and hopefully have a few things with which we can get some joy.

"They could play a couple of formations so we just have to be ready for every permutation."

The Jets are expected to make at least two changes to the side that trumped the Sky Blues.

Scott Neville (groin) is in extreme doubt and Mark Birighitti is likely to come in for Ben Kennedy (knee) in goals.